Billy J. Kramer

In 1964, Brian Epstein was adding to his stable of acts when he signed Billy J. Kramer.  Providing Billy with a string of songs written by Lennon-McCartney, Billy enjoyed a bunch of successes, in both Britain and the USA. Although Billy's career fizzled in just a couple years, he did make a mark.  In 1964, he released the only debut single in the USA ever to have both sides enter the top ten of the hot 100... "Little Children" B/W "Bad To Me", #7 and #9 respectively.  To me, "Little Children" is Billy's best song, but today it's forgotten.
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Grass Roots

You could easily do forgotten oldies for the American Band the Grass Roots for many, many days without a repeat... since they put 21 songs on the hot 100 in the late 60's and early 70's. They were unusual for their time with a brass section well before Chicago popularized the use of a brass section.  They also had a tendency to go through members almost monthly.  But they had a lot of hits, big hits.  Today a song that hit top twenty status in 1969... "Bella Linda", taken from an old italian hit.  Today, this song and much of their other great music is forgotten.
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Smith

This is one of my favorite forgotten oldies.  In 1969 a band named Smith scored a top 5 hit with "Baby It's You".  The song had been a hit for the Shirelles and the Beatles, but Smith's version out-charted it's predecessors selling over a million copies.  But Smith's follow-ups fizzled and the band eventually folded.  But this is an absolutely great record, and deserves airplay.
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First Big Hit

"She Cried" was the 1962 smash hit that started the long career of Jay and the Americans.  Reaching #5 on the Hot 100, the song was a preview of many songs the band would record with amazing vocal work.  The most interesting thing to me is that the song "She Cried" was sung by Jay Traynor who left the group shortly after and was replaced by Jay Black.  A great story.  Today "She Cried" is a forgotten oldie.
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Dr. John

Malcolm John Rebennack, better known to rock fans as Dr. John, had a top twenty hit in 1973 with "Right Place Wrong Time".  Although Dr. John has had a very successful musical career mostly as a blues musician, he was truly a one hit wonder and never had a hit on the charts again.  But his one hit was a good one, and dominated the radio in 1973... sadly forgotten today.

Harry Nilsson's birthday!

Harry Nilsson was born June 15, 1941... 75 years ago today.  He was amazingly talented, with a 3 1/2 octave range.  When Paul McCartney was asked who his favorite American group was, he replied Nilsson.  An interesting trivia fact about Nilsson... both Keith Moon of the Who and Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas died in Harry's London apartment.  Harry chose personal satisfaction over commercial success throughout his career, and he suffered from heart disease from excessive drug and alsohol abuse, but he had some monster hits.  From 1971 I bring you a top ten hit in honor of Harry's birthday... and a forgotten oldie as well, "Coconut".
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Billy Joe Royal

Best known for his 1965 hit "Down in the Boondocks", American singer Billy Joe Royal actually had several hot 100 hits in the 60's.  Interestingly he became a big Vegas act in the 70's, also a steady TV and movie actor, and reinvented himself as a country singer in the 80's with a bunch of country hits.  Billy died in 2015. But back in 1969 he went to #15 on the chart with "Cherry Hill Park".  Just a good, solid song, today it's another forgotten oldie,
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Yardbirds

In 1965 the British band The Yardbirds scored a top twenty hit with the song "I'm A Man".  Don't be confused, this is nowhere near the song "I'm A Man" that was a hit for Chicago and Spencer Davis.  The Yardbirds' version was actually a #1 R & B hit for the great Bo Diddley way back in 1955.  I much prefer the Yardbirds take on the song... sadly just a forgotten oldie today.
watch an amazing live version here

I Can Dance

Leo Sayer was a British performer that scored some top ten hits in the USA during the 70's, including two #1's... "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You", both in 1977.  The strength of those records is probably why we forget his  first hit in the USA, 1974's "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)". Such a great song, and extremely popular with local bands it just dropped off the radar and slipped into the forgotten oldie category.
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The American Invasion

Back in the 60's dozens of English rock bands, led by the Beatles, mounted the British Invasion and sold millions of records on our soil. Our counterpoint was the Walker Brothers, an American band that packed up and moved to England and had great success there.  Yes, the Walker Brothers led the "American Invasion".  Although the band all used the name Walker, they were actually not related or even born with the name Walker, they just liked it.  During their British heyday, a couple of their songs made their way back to the USA,   The first U.S. hit was "Make It Easy On Yourself" which went to #16 on the Hot 100 in 1965.  A fabulous song, forgotten today.
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